{"id":36620,"date":"2015-11-06T16:59:56","date_gmt":"2015-11-06T21:59:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wanderlust.com\/?p=36620"},"modified":"2017-11-28T14:07:42","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T19:07:42","slug":"breathe-yourself-back-to-basics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/de\/journal\/breathe-yourself-back-to-basics\/","title":{"rendered":"Breathe Yourself Back to Basics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Take the Wanderlust 21-Day Yoga Challenge!<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n

You want to make cool, new shapes? Learn to breathe.<\/p>\n

You hear it in every yoga class: \u201cInhale. Exhale.\u201d Perhaps easy in child\u2019s pose<\/a>, but connection to breath takes real concerted effort when you\u2019re learning something new and challenging. In fact, our first natural response is to hold or shallow the breath in times of difficulty. But the moment we decrease the quality of the breath, the struggle increases. Every. Single. Time. And a strong, advanced practice relies on the basics of breath.<\/p>\n

I have over 15 years on my mat, but over the last year, I\u2019ve dedicated a great deal of time (and money) to advancing my asana. I\u2019ve studied with contortionists<\/a>, ashtangis<\/a>, hand-balancing experts, and partner acrobats. My return on investment from these pursuits has been pretty phenomenal. As a 33-year-old woman, I\u2019ve achieved new shapes in my body, shapes I never dreamed possible. The collection of these experiences teaches me that I can do anything<\/em>\u2014on and off the mat. Continued success and evolution, however, rides on one common, simple thread: The breath. I hear it from every single one of my teachers. „Breathe more, Lauren. Breathe more.“ And whenever I do, magic happens.<\/p>\n

The breath matters for a number of reasons, both subtle and significant. The breath is physical. You can feel it move through your body\u2014in your belly, your ribs, and up into your chest. You can isolate the breath, and practice different pranayama techniques to control it.<\/p>\n

On a scientific level, the breath connects<\/a> directly to the central nervous system. If the breath is shallow, it contributes to an anxious state. This is why you always tell someone in a crying fit or a panic to take a deep breath. Longer, fuller breaths lead to a calm state of mind when you need to keep your cool, like when you’re doing something new and potentially scary. You can see the translation to a physical challenge, right? If you are approaching a new posture with fear in the mind and <\/em>shallow breath, you\u2019re not likely to get anywhere. You might literally struggle to move.<\/p>\n

Consistent connection to breath<\/a> will help you to stay out of the chitta<\/em><\/a>, what the yogis call the mind chatter. You stay present without the natural tendency to attach to thoughts that could inhibit your range of movement. For example, if you\u2019re working on a handstand, your mind might say, \u201cI can\u2019t do this. It\u2019s too hard. I\u2019m going to get hurt.\u201d Sometimes, these types of thoughts are based on reason, but more often, they\u2019re coming from a place of fear and self-imposed limits. Staying with the breath helps us observe these thoughts like a passerby. We don\u2019t get trapped by them. We breathe beyond them, and we take the next right action.<\/p>\n

The breath also works energetically like the waves in the ocean. Consider yourself a surfer<\/a>. If you catch a swell, you ride with ease to the shore. You are energized and connected. You might be able to make the same journey with brute force, but it\u2019s going to deplete your energy\u2014and it doesn\u2019t have to. The breath will get you where you\u2019re looking to go faster, while ensuring that you feel good at the same time. This is especially true when you\u2019re trying poses that require momentum.<\/p>\n

Deep breathing<\/a> allows you to open up to the possibilities in your body. Whether its stretching or stabilizing, if you breathe into the experience, it blossoms. You air it out and up for the taking. Once you learn how<\/em> to stay close to your breath through your physical practice, you naturally begin to stay open in your life and in your relationships. You know intuitively how to breath into difficulty, and you become better able to discern which shapes in life are best to try, and which ones just won\u2019t fit.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"Lauren<\/a><\/em>Lauren Taus<\/a> is a writer, a life coach, and a yoga instructor. She firmly believes in the mind-body connection, and in the ability for an improvement in one to benefit the other. Lauren helps her clients to develop the skills they need to make health and happiness easy in a complex world.\u00a0Before building a career in wellness, Lauren worked as a hedge fund executive, and she maintains a soft spot for corporate clients. She\u00a0regularly teaches at some of New York\u2019s most elite studios including Soho House, Equinox, and Pure Yoga.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reconnect to your practice by returning to the basics of breath. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1571,"featured_media":36626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[778],"tags":[1529,1530,51],"class_list":["post-36620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-practice","tag-breath","tag-connected","tag-yoga-practice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBreathe Yourself Back to Basics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why breath is the most important part of your advanced practice.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/journal\/breathe-yourself-back-to-basics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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